La Liga
Yaya Toure ‘offers’ self to embattled Barca
Former Barcelona midfielder and Cote d’ Ivoire legend Yaya Toure has stated he is readily available to help Barcelona at any given time if he is contacted to do so.
The Blaugrana have been inconsistent this season, and have suffered back-to-back defeats in all competitions, the latest one coming on Saturday when they fell 2-0 to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid.
Barca have won just once in their last six matches in all competitions, losing thrice and drawing twice. It is a run that is hurting the club’s faithful, and it is for this reason the former midfielder has offered himself to help the team if needed.
“It may be a difficult time for the club but my belief for Barcelona is strong,” Toure, who is currently the Akhmat Grozny assistant coach, posted on his official social media account.
“I will always be available for the club should they need me anytime as my heart is forever with the club, the people, and the fans.
“My time at Barcelona was one of the best memories of my playing career. The club decided to trust me when I was still a young player, yet to establish myself in the top leagues. I will forever be grateful to the club for what they have done for me.”
It may be a difficult time for the club but my belief for @FCBarcelona is strong. I will always be available for the club should they need me anytime as my heart is forever with the club, the people and the fans! #ForçaBarça https://t.co/YjUnxrh5Md
The now 38-year-old was signed by the Spanish heavyweights from Monaco in 2007 and played until the summer of 2010 when Manchester City came calling. While at Barca, the West African won La Liga titles in 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons.
He also won the Copa del Rey in the 2008/09 season as well as the UEFA Champions League that year.
In 2009, he won the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup with Barca, and has now suggested he is keen to help the under-pressure manager Ronald Koeman.
On the La Liga table, Barcelona are placed in the ninth position with 12 points from the seven matches they have played. The former champions have managed three wins, as many draws, and a loss.
Rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are joint top with 17 points the latter having played one more match (eight).
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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